Organ and tissue transplantation is the preferred clinical approach to treat patients suffering from organ failure or complications arising from diseases of specific organs and tissues. However, transplant patients face a lifetime of immunosuppressive therapy and the risk of losing the new organ due to rejection. Although improvements have been made in the transplantation process, rejection remains the most common complication following transplantation and is the major source of morbidity and mortality. Transplant rejection occurs when the immune system of the recipient of a transplant attacks the transplanted organ or tissue. Rejection is an adaptive immune response and is mediated through both T lymphocyte-mediated and humoral immune mechanisms.
Thus, there remains a need for methods to promote organ or tissue transplantation tolerance in patients.